Saibaba temple gets Rs 6 cr donations during Ramnavami fest

Shirdi: The famous Saibaba temple here received donations worth Rs 6.32 crore from devotees during the three-day Ramnavami festival, an official said today. The festival was held at the temple in western Maharashtra from April 3 to 5.

The donations were in the form of cash, gold and silver items, online transfer of money and payments through credit/debit cards, said Sachin Tambe, an official of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), which manages the shrine. The temple had received Rs 2.83 crore worth of offerings during the festival last year, he said.

This year, gold and silver articles worth Rs 3.54 crore were donated by devotees, while offerings worth Rs 2.78 crore came via other ways, Tambe said. A sum of Rs 40 lakh came through cashless and online contributions, a huge jump from Rs 7 lakh last year, the official added.